13-14 April 2022, Boort Resource & Information Centre (BRIC) and Salute Oliva, Victoria.

This highly-acclaimed and comprehensive program will be delivered by international master olive miller, Pablo Canamasas, and 2019 and 2021 AIOA Best of Show winners, Peter and Marlies Eicher of Salute Oliva. The course covers every aspect of processing quality olive oil, from grove management for optimal fruit quality to best-practice processing and storage. Along the way you’ll learn a lot about olive oil chemistry, and the practical aspects of oil extraction.

Program

Pre-event webinar

Due to time constraints during the live workshop session, a pre-event webinar will be held on Friday 8th April from 8:45am till 12:45pm (AEST) covering the topics:

• Agronomical aspects: Irrigation, pests and diseases, harvest, transport and harvest-processing delay: Impact on quality and extraction efficiency. Determining optimal harvesting times.
• Oil storage: Different tank designs. Tank farm management. Evolution of the oil quality during storage. Filtration: equipment and impact on quality.
• Understanding Oil Quality: Analytical parameters that determine quality in olive oil. Oil adulteration analysis, new techniques. Determination of shelf life.

The webinar can either be attended on the day or the video recordings of the topics can be watched at a later date but prior to day 1 (13 April) of the live event.

Day 1 – Boort Information Resource Centre, 119-121 Godfrey St, Boort VIC

• 9.00am Registrations open
• 9.30am –11.30am. Fruit washing. Crushing & Malaxing: Different types of crushers. Crushing degree, principles. Impact on quality. Visual inspection of crusher. Emulsions. Different types of malaxers. Malaxing time: impact on paste extractability and oil quality. Malaxing temperature: Impact on paste extractability and oil quality. New pre-heating technologies.

 Morning tea (15 min)

• 11.45am – 1.00pm. Use of processing aids: Talc powder, microtalc powder, calcium carbonate, citric acid, salt, enzymes, Ultrasound. Combination of processing aids. Impact on paste extractability and oil quality.

 Lunch (45 min)

• 1.45pm – 3.15pm. Horizontal centrifugation: Differences between 2 & 3 phases. Decanter: Centrifugation principles. Working capacity and extraction efficiency: parameters affecting them. Pumping speed: impact on paste extractability. Decanter adjustments. Differential speed.

Afternoon tea (30min)

• 3.45pm  – 5.30pm. Vertical centrifugation: centrifugation principles. Regulations: water ring. Oil losses at separator step: acceptable limits. Impact on oil quality (temperature of water of addition and poor centrifugation performance). Settling tanks: holding capacity, set up & drainage frequency. Extraction efficiency: Benchmarks. Different methodologies of calculation.

Networking dinner

Day 2 – Salute Oliva, 5 Templeton Dr, Boort VIC

• 8.30am – 11.30am. Processing demonstration – Processing of fruit using different paste preparation approaches to evaluate oil extraction efficiency and quality. Discussion of aspects learned the day before. Use of processing aids.

• 11.30am – 12.00pm. Tasting of the oils obtained during the trials at the plant. Closing of the course.

Lunch (45 min)

Accommodation: If you require accommodation, we suggest Boort Lakes Holiday Park, 186/196 Godfrey St, Boort VIC 3537. Phone: (03) 5455 2064

Cost (includes all meals, including networking dinner): Members & levy payers: $250 inc GST, Others: $350 inc GST

Numbers are limited! Registrations close 4 April 2022.